Regulatory issues in health care at the state and federal level in government have been a complex issue for provider, patients and families for quite some time and are often confusingly enforced. The state and federal government are both entitled to exercise regulatory power over health care facilities, and both generally enforce their separate regulations very strictly. In the state of New Hampshire, the Bureau of Health Facilities Administration oversees the enforcement of standards to safeguard patients receiving care in any facility located in the state through the use of several different licensing units that perform inspections and certifications ( Bureau of Health Facilities Administration, n.d.) According to the Department of Health and Human Services, federal agencies “create regulations under the authority of Congress to help government carry out public policy” (Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, March 18, 2016.) This sounds incredibly straightforward until you start trying to find out what the exact federal regulations are from each federal agency (Grimm, N. (n.d.), but the organization is responsible for ensuring that they are compliant with all state and federal regulations. As OSHA inspects some 7 …show more content…
(2016, March 18). Laws & Regulations. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.hhs.gov/regulations/ Contact Us | Bureau of Health Facilities Administration | New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/oos/bhfa/ Grimm, N. (n.d.). Healthcare Regulations: Who Does What? Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.yourtrainingprovider.com/blog_main/bid/203291/health-care-regulation-who-does-what The OSHA Standards of Care. (2012, 15 March). Retrieved March 26, 2017 https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-inspections.pdf Help For Employers. (2012, 15 March). Retrieved March 26, 2017
Homeland Security. (n.d.). State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.dhs.gov/state-and-major-urban-area-fusion-centers
regulations - what's next? Health Matrix: Journal of Law and Medicine 2, no. 1 (Spring): 49- (22 p).
For decades, one of the many externalities that the government is trying to solve is the rising costs of healthcare. "Rising healthcare costs have hurt American competitiveness, forced too many families into bankruptcy to get their families the care they need, and driven up our nation's long-term deficit" ("Deficit-Reducing Healthcare Reform," 2014). The United States national government plays a major role in organizing, overseeing, financing, and more so than ever delivering health care (Jaffe, 2009). Though the government does not provide healthcare directly, it serves as a financing agent for publicly funded healthcare programs through the taxation of citizens. The total share of the national publicly funded health spending by various governments amounts to 4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, GDP (Jaffe, 2009). By 2019, government spending on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to rise to 6 percent and 12 percent by 2050 (Jaffe, 2009). The percentages, documented from the Health Policy Brief (2009) by Jaffe, are from Medicare and Medicaid alone. The rapid rates are not due to increase of enrollment but growth in per capita costs for providing healthcare, especially via Medicare.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, most commonly known by its initials HIPAA, was enacted by Congress then signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. This act was put into place in order to regulate the privacy of patient health information, and as an effort to lower the cost of health care, shape the many pieces of our complicated healthcare system. This act also protects individuals from losing their health insurance if they lose their employment or choose to switch employers. . Before HIPAA there was no standard or consistency for the enforcement of the privacy for patients and the rules and regulations varied by state and organizations. HIPAA virtually affects everybody within the healthcare field including but not limited to patients, providers, payers and intermediaries. Although there are many parts of the HIPAA act, for the purposes of this paper we are going to focus on the two main sections and the four objectives of HIPAA, a which are to improve the portability (the capability of transferring from one employee to another) of health insurance, combat fraud, abuse, and waste in health insurance, to promote the expanded use of medical savings accounts, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.
Healthcare providers must make their treatment decisions based on many determining factors, one of which is insurance reimbursement. Providers always consider whether or not the organization will be paid by the patients and/or insurance companies when providing care. Another important factor which affects the healthcare provider’s ability to provide the appropriate care is whether or not the patient has been truthful, if they have had access to health, and are willing to take the necessary steps to maintain their health.
Health Maintenance Organizations, or HMO’s, are a very important part of the American health care system. Also referred to as managed care programs, HMO's are combinations of doctors and insurance companies that are formed into one organization. This organization provides treatment to its members at fixed costs and decides on what treatment, if any, will be given based on the patient's or doctor's current health plan. Sometimes, no treatment is given at all. HMO's main concerns are to control costs and supposedly provide the best possible treatment to their patients. But it seems to the naked eye that instead their main goal is to get more people enrolled so that they can maintain or raise current premiums paid by consumers using their service. For HMO's, profit comes first- not patients' lives.
Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program. (n.d.). Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program. Retrieved July 17, 2011, from http://www.hfap.org
Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Staff Analysis Statement of Problem HCA, after following a conservative financial policy since its establishment, has entered the new decade preparing to make some changes in order to realign their financial strategy and capital structure. Since its establishment, HCA has often been used as a measure for the entire proprietary hospital industry. Is it now time for the market to realign their expectations for the industry as a whole? HCA has target goals that need to be met in order to accomplish milestones in the future.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) affects every aspect of health care from patient privacy to insurance coverage. The federal act was first passed in 1996, yet the first major rule did not go into effect until 2003, protecting patient privacy. HIPAA ultimately came into effect due to the issues regarding patient privacy, security and coverage. Another major concern for both health care workers and the public was the exchange of patient information from one facility to another. Until the relatively recent decision to enforce HIPAA, a patient’s medical record was primarily recorded and maintained on paper and stored in locked cabinets or drawers. Not only was this method inefficient, but patients were also starting to become increasingly concerned over the privacy of these documents.
Formed in 1998, the Managed Care Executive Group (MCEG) is a national organization of U.S. senior health executives who provide an open exchange of shared resources by discussing issues which are currently faced by health care organizations. In the fall of 2011, 61 organizations, which represented 90 responders, ranked the top ten strategic issues for 2012. Although the issues were ranked according to their priority, this report discusses the top three issues which I believe to be the most significant due to the need for competitive and inter-related products, quality care and cost containment.
The agency’s primary responsibility is to be the chief health policy and planning entity for the state. The department is responsible for health facility licensure, inspection, and regulatory enforcement; investigation of consumer complaints related to health care facilities and managed care plans; the implementation of the certificate of need program; the operation of the Florida Center for Health Information a...
The Healthcare Reforms Act 2010 or the Affordable Care Act introduces the universal form of health care. The ACA seeks to reduce healthcare costs and allow people to be more engaged in their own health care. The ACA intends to make healthcare more affordable and increase access of health care by expanding government’s Medicaid program to the financially disadvantaged, such as the low income earners, disabled people and people over 65 years of age (Arvantes, 2010).
When it comes to healthcare in the US there are many facets. Most understand that you have the field where women and men are tirelessly coming to work whether it be clinics, hospitals or doctor’s offices to care for patients in direct care. While there are CEO’s, VP’s, management and all sorts of employees on the front line to make sure that direct patient care happens, there is also another side that address the United States healthcare in a politics area that includes policies and many other dimensions. That is when we discuss acts, reforms and many other different things such as Obama Care, all which are generally very controversy for multiple reason. The World Health Organization ranks the United States healthcare system as
Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest binding documents in history, and it is still held sacred by physicians to help the ill, to preserve a patient's privacy, but most importantly it is taken by doctors swearing to practice medicine ethically. Practicing medicine ethically might have been very sacred centuries ago, but unfortunately it is not the case in today's society especially in the United States. Doctors in the United States face more than just high education costs, liability insurance payments, and long hours of work just to stay on top of the latest advancement in medical technology, but many of them also have to deal every day with insurance companies that do not want to cover their patients recommended treatments. A doctor's duty is to help people and practice medicine ethically, but that is impossible with the chaos that is happening in the American health care industry and a serious reform is needed such as the accepting the Patient Protection Affordability Care Act. The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010 by Barrack Obama, but some do not agree with the "obamacare" are on the fast track to repeal the bill. The law would focuses on the health care reform in the United States by providing better coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, improving prescription drug coverage, but most importantly giving every person access to recommended preventative services without cost. (Department of Health and Human Services)
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPAA, was endorsed by the U.S. Congress in 1996. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided the first nationally-recognizable regulations for the use/disclosure of an individual's health information. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. (OCR 2003)